


More than Words

by RexBrickowski



Category: The LEGO Movie (2014)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, I needed to write this, Lucy is smitten with two beautiful boys, Multi, Rex sings in this, Singing, Song Lyrics, They don't quite know it yet but there's a lotta love here, because the an gst I was writing earlier was breaking my heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-27
Updated: 2019-08-27
Packaged: 2020-09-27 19:47:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20413306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RexBrickowski/pseuds/RexBrickowski
Summary: Rex can play the guitar. Emmet has a guitar.Of course Lucy and Emmet are going to make him play something!





	More than Words

Rex nodded in approval as Emmet concluded the house tour. Everything was just as he had remembered it, from the fireman pole to Planty's room. It gave him a kind of funny twinge of pride that he remembered it so well... Well. It felt like an odd thing to be proud of, remembering the layout of your own house.

The three of them had ended up in the same place Emmet always ended his tour, the backyard, by the porch swing. Emmet and Lucy turned to face him, clearly waiting to see what he would do next.

Rex shifted uncomfortably under their expectant gazes, clearing his throat. There wasn't really anything to say that he hadn't already mentioned during the tour…

Suddenly, he remembered one thing that had caught his eye. Something that hadn't been present in his memories.

Rex hesitantly started walking back towards the door, and his roommates moved to follow. Rex tried to ignore them as he walked back through the house, not quite sure what they were waiting for him to do. He focused on remembering where the object had been…

When he got to the living room, the guitar was sitting right in the corner of the room where he had initially seen it.

"It's, uh... It's an acoustic," Rex said lamely. Of course they could already see that it was an acoustic guitar. Not to mention Emmet had been the one to place it there, he was sure.

"Oh! Yeah." Emmet gave a small nod, walking over and picking up the instrument. "I had an old electric one, but... Well, you know. It got a little..."

"Busted," Rex finished, chuckling. "Yeah, I remember. Who would have thought guitars didn't like being run over by giant cars?"

Emmet grinned, sitting on the couch and holding the guitar on his lap. "Yeah, well… I never really played it before it bit the dust, anyway. And when I happened to be in the market for a new guitar, I decided I wanted an acoustic one instead! The electric one felt weird to me." Emmet ran a hand over the strings.

Rex flinched. To start with, he had no idea how to strum. He moved his hand too roughly over the strings, and they snapped back into place with an unhappy "twang." Not to mention…

Rex walked over and sat beside Emmet, taking the instrument from him, to his apparent surprise. "You aren't even in tune, Ding-dong. The first and last strings are supposed to be the same note in different octaves, believe it or not. I don't even know  _ what _ that note you just played was."

Rex gently plucked each string, fiddling with each respective tuning machine as if he had done it a million times before. Which he had.

Lucy walked over and sat on the table across from the two boys, smiling slightly. Emmet was watching Rex with rapt attention as he explained what note each string should be tuned to. They looked so at ease... It warmed her heart to see them this way. 

Rex didn't even need a tuner, or a pitch pipe, or anything. After so many years playing, the notes came to him naturally, like recalling a phone number or address of a friend you hadn't seen in years but still remembered by heart.

At last, the last high E rang out clear. Rex grinned, satisfied, and strummed a C chord, testing his handiwork. It was perfectly in tune.

"Rex, you play?"

Rex looked up at Lucy in surprise, not having noticed her move to sit across from them. "Ah, well, kind of." Rex tried his best to hide a faint blush, quickly looking down at the instrument he held. "I'm really more experienced with an electric guitar, but... I picked up both of them. Got bored in space, y'know, just... It was just something to do."

Rex cleared his throat and started handing the guitar back to Emmet. "Well, you're in tune now, why not put it--"

"Why don't you play us something?"

Rex paused, caught by Emmet's eager, pleading gaze.

"Ah, I mean, I haven't touched one of these things in ages, I couldn't really..."

"Pleeeeease, Rex? It doesn't have to be something crazy... It can be anything!" Emmet begged him with puppy eyes as well as with his voice, gently pushing the guitar back into Rex's lap. "It doesn't even have to be good, we'll like it anyway!!"

Rex snorted with laughter, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Wow. Thanks."

Emmet's eyes widened. "Oh, n-no, I didn't mean, I just meant that, i-if you were embarrassed, that we--"

"Oh hush," Lucy interrupted, stifling her laughter. "Just let him play!"

Rex laughed, grinning to himself as he readjusted the guitar on his lap. 

Now… What the hell could he play. 

Something without a complicated strumming pattern. Or complex lyrics… with a maximum of two chords.

He absent-mindedly played a few random chords, getting a feel for the instrument, while simultaneously trying to tune out the eager eyes trained on him. He hated performing. Always had. Having admirers watch in wonder as he fought off some baddie was one thing, making music in front of them was quite another.

Maybe he could just play a half-assed "Horse with No Name" and get it over with. He tried to remember how the song started, and began trying out chords to see which one felt right. He couldn't even remember the words off the top of his head, but he was sure it would come back to him when he remembered the chord. 

He paused when he played a G, however. That definitely wasn't the beginning of "Horse with No Name," but… it stirred the memory of another song. One of the first songs he had ever learned on the acoustic. One of his favorites. 

He strummed the G a few more times, wrestling with his thoughts. Was he seriously thinking about playing a love song…? Well, at least he knew he remembered all the words to that one. Habit was a good teacher. But then again… A  _ love song?  _

He glanced up at Emmet and Lucy, who still sat and watched him patiently as he struggled to make up his mind.

Screw it. 

Might as well go for it.

He'd just play the first verse and stop, that would be easy enough… 

Rex closed his eyes and began strumming. His hand gently passed over the strings, before he brought it down for a soft percussive beat. His left hand deftly traced a single line melody down a string, his muscle memory negating the need for any thought. His hands automatically knew where to go, what frets to use. His right hand moved over the strings with a tender care that seemed at odds with what he usually played, but… He found himself settling right into it.

Beside him, Emmet's face completely lit up. He sat back, beaming at the man beside him as he played.

Oh, he knew this song already. Of all the songs he had expected Rex to start with, this definitely wouldn't have been Emmet's first guess, but… Considering how much Emmet himself loved his song, it didn't seem too far-fetched that Rex had learned it.

Lucy's brows raised slightly as she listened, as she found she recognized the song as well. Emmet had often put it on to listen to. A sweet love song… She tried to ignore the fact that her cheeks were turning pink.

Then Rex began to sing.

_ "Saying I love you is not the words I want to hear from you…"  _

Lucy's breath caught in her throat. 

Oh.

His voice was soft and relaxed, sounding effortless as he moved over the higher vocal range. When he sang, the rough growl that accompanied his speaking was stripped away, leaving behind a gentle, warm voice that seemed alien coming from him, and yet… comfortable and familiar at the same time.

Emmet couldn't keep a smile from his face as he listened, gently swaying to the beat. 

_ "… show me how you feel-- _

** _"More than words--"_ ** _ _

Rex's eyes flew open as he heard a second voice joining his own.

He had always defaulted to the lower harmony line, as it was what was most comfortable from his range. Emmet had guessed this correctly, and had jumped in on the melody with him.

Emmet beamed at Rex as they sang, swaying slightly.

Rex didn't let his surprise stop him, and continued singing, unable to keep himself from smiling back.

** _"Is all you have to do to make it real…"_ **

Emmet leaned in towards Rex as their harmonies twined, and Rex found himself unconsciously mirroring the movement, smile brightening. It just felt… right!

Lucy placed a hand over her mouth to hide her smile, her eyes shining.

Oh god… They were so adorable. The apparent joy on both of their faces as their voices wove together was contagious.

Lucy's heart fluttered. 

She sighed softly and closed her eyes, letting their voices wash over her.

** _"... 'Cause I'd already know." _ **

As if by some unspoken agreement, Rex stopped singing and let Emmet take the next phrase. 

Emmet closed his eyes and let the delicate high notes fly effortlessly from his mouth.

_ "What would you do if my heart was torn in two?"  _

** _"More than words to show you feel that your love for me is real."_ **

Emmet tossed his head back slightly as he crooned the higher melody, unable to keep a certain theatrical element from his singing. Rex struggled not to laugh as he watched, trying his best to focus on the music as they continued with the verse. 

** _"… just by saying I love you!"_ **

Emmet leaned against Rex's shoulder on the last line, careful not to obstruct his strumming. Rex didn't move away. In fact, as they softly sang the nonsense syllables together, Rex closed his eyes and leaned slightly against him as well, enjoying the feeling as their "words" overlapped. 

Emmet, surprised at the return of the gesture, blushed happily, looking up at Rex with warm affection.

Lucy wasn't surprised to find herself blinking away tears. She wiped them away with the heel of her palm, and Emmet caught sight of the motion.

The two made eye contact, and Lucy smiled at him with such tenderness and love that his light pink blush immediately turned a deep red. He turned and pressed his face into Rex's shoulder, causing the other singer's eyes to fly open in surprise.

Rex's hand went still on the strings, a final warm chord fading away in the air. 

Emmet quickly sat up again, looking mortified. "I… I'm sorry Rex, I didn't mean to…" 

Rex gave a shy half-smile, shaking his head. "Ah, nah, you're fine. I had already played a lot more than I was planning to, and that was a good place to stop." Rex turned and placed the guitar on the floor, leaning it against the arm of the couch.

As he turned back, he suddenly felt an arm being flung around him. 

Lucy embraced both Emmet and Rex, pulling them together and nuzzling between them. 

Emmet gave a surprised little yelp-laugh, his blush returning full force.

Rex's eyes widened slightly as his own cheeks darkened, too stunned to make a move.

After a moment Lucy straightened slightly and placed a hand on both of the boys' faces, turning from one to the other and placing small kisses on each of their cheeks.

"You two sounded wonderful. That was the most beautiful thing I've ever heard."

Emmet beamed, hands clasped tightly in his lap, looking barely able to contain his joy. 

Rex slowly reached up, his fingers lightly touching the place where her lips had been a moment before.

Lucy gave the two of them a knowing smile, looking from one red face to another adoringly.

She straightened, stifling a giggle, and turned to the kitchen.

"Now... Who wants breakfast for dinner?" 


End file.
